Creative illustration book

ABSTRACT

A creative illustration book is provided that has a story page that has pre-printed text of a written story. An illustration page is included that does not have any of the pre-printed text of the written story thereon. The illustration page is removable from the book so that the entire written story is retained in the book after removal of the illustration page. The illustration page is provided for use in having a user draw an illustration thereon.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to children's books. More particularly, the present application involves a creative illustration book that allows a child to illustrate a children's book while still maintaining the written story of the book in an original, non-modified state. Further, the creative illustration book allows the child's illustrations to be displayed or kept separately from the original, non-modified story portions of the book if desired.

BACKGROUND

It is commonly accepted that exposure to books provides children with a wide range of benefits that allows them to further excel in other areas. For example, reading enhances language and speech development and fosters a clearer understanding of grammar and vocabulary. Children that read may also strengthen their writing skills, memory, focus, and learning abilities. Aside from the aforementioned improvements, reading may also provide entertainment and enhance the creativity of a child. As such, reading is a significant aspect of a child's education and development.

Children's books have been designed to foster the free expression and imagination of the child reader. One such book is a picture book that includes a series of pictures that are partially completed. The leaves of the book are coated with a transparent synthetic plastic layer that can be written on by the child with the use of a pen having water-soluble ink. The child may flip through the picture book and complete the partially completed illustrations, or may write or draw on the book as desired. The ink is erasable so that the child or parent can then remove the markings to return the picture book to its original state. The leaves of the picture book are thus non-removable, and a written story is not provided. Also, the ink is erasable and hence temporary, and the markings are made so as to complete existing illustrations.

Another children's book that has been developed in order to foster the creative writing abilities of the child includes a series of pages that feature different illustrations. Each illustration builds upon a particular theme, and the child will write a story corresponding to the sequence of images displayed in subsequent illustrations. Once completed, the illustrations and written story are removed from the book and saved for later evaluation. The book contains an additional or several additional identical sequences of images. In the future, the child can go back and write another story corresponding to the sequence of images and then remove this second set of pages from the book. The stories generated by the child can then be compared in order to track the child's writing development. Although capable of fostering writing abilities of the child, such a system does not allow for the creation of illustrations, requires the read story to be removed from the book, does not leave the read story within the book, and does not include a written story. Although capable of advancing creative writing skills and drawing skills, current children's books fail to foster the creation of illustrations based upon a permanent written story. As such, there remains room for variation and improvement within the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth more particularly in the remainder of the specification, which makes reference to the appended FIGS. in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an introduction page of a creative illustration book in accordance with one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pre-printed illustration page and a story page of the creative illustration book of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an illustration page of the creative illustration book of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the back of the illustration page shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a blank illustration page in accordance with one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view of an illustration page in accordance with another exemplary embodiment that has pre-printed text and a pre-printed illustration thereon.

FIG. 7 is a front view of an illustration page in accordance with one exemplary embodiment that includes a pre-printed boarder.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF REPRESENTATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, and not meant as a limitation of the invention. For example, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield still a third embodiment. It is intended that the present invention include these and other modifications and variations.

It is to be understood that the ranges mentioned herein include all ranges located within the prescribed range. As such, all ranges mentioned herein include all sub-ranges included in the mentioned ranges. For instance, a range from 100-200 also includes ranges from 110-150, 170-190, and 153-162. Further, all limits mentioned herein include all other limits included in the mentioned limits. For instance, a limit of up to 7 also includes a limit of up to 5, up to 3, and up to 4.5.

The present invention provides for a creative illustration book 10 that may be used for educational and recreational purposes. The creative illustration book 10 may function to stimulate reading comprehension and facilitate creative drawing in the child. The creative illustration book 10 can include one or more story pages 12 that include pre-printed text of a written story 22. One or more illustration pages 14 can also be included in the creative illustration book 10. The child may draw illustrations 24 onto the illustration pages 14 that visually represent the story being told in the rest of the book 10. Alternatively, the child may draw illustrations 24 onto the illustration pages 14 that function to complete the story or that have nothing at all to do with the story. The illustrations pages 14 with the drawn illustrations 24 can be removed from the book 10 and placed at any desired location. For example, the removed illustration pages 14 with illustrations 24 can be put on the refrigerator, posted on a wall, or placed into a frame or album. The story pages 12 are not removable from the creative illustration book 10 so that the child can re-read the pre-printed text of the written story 22 at a later date and so that the written story remains complete. In some embodiments the book 10 may be used by a therapist or a child in a hospital such that the book 10 can be used for therapeutic purposes or while the child is being treated for an injury or disease.

FIG. 1 shows a creative illustration book 10 in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The book 10 is open so that the inside of the front cover 50 of the book 10 can be seen in addition to an instruction page 42 located on a leaf 38 of the book 10. The cover 50 can be either a hard back cover or a soft back cover in accordance with various embodiments. The instruction page 42 can function as a forward of the book 10 and may provide instructions written in pre-printed text 48 to the child, or guardian of the child, as to the proper use of the book 10 as will be explained below. The leaf 38 can be permanently attached to the cover 50 of the book so that it is non-removable. It is to be understood, however, that the instruction page 42 need not be present in accordance with other exemplary embodiments of the creative illustration book 10.

Turning of the instruction page 42 reveals a graphical page 57 that is on the back side of the leaf 38 that contains the instruction page 42. The graphical page 57 is shown in FIG. 2. The graphical page 57 may include a pre-printed illustration 36 that relates to a written story provided in the rest of the book 10. As used herein, the term “pre-printed” refers to text or illustrations that are made by a publisher or producer of the book 10 before being purchased by the child or the child's guardian. The pre-printed text or illustrations are not drawn or created by the child or the child's guardian but rather by a producer of the book 10. Although shown as having a graphical page 57, it is to be understood that other arrangements of the creative illustration book 10 are possible in which no pre-printed illustrations 36 are provided. Further, although shown as being on the opposite side of instruction page 42 and before the start of the written story, the graphical page 57 may be located at other points in the book 10. Also, any number of graphical pages 57 may be utilized in other exemplary embodiments. For example, from 2-5, from 6-10, or up to 15 graphical pages 57 can be employed in other arrangements of the creative illustration book 10.

The second leaf 40 of the book 10 includes a first page 16 that is a story page 12. Pre-printed text of the written story 22 is located on the story page 12. The written story 22 may be a child's story and may or may not relate to the pre-printed illustrations 36 shown in other portions of the book 10. The child or the child's guardian may read the story on the story page 12 to the child and turn the leaf 40 once completed to reveal the book 10 as shown in FIG. 3. Here, a second page 18 is located on the back of the first page 16 and is likewise a story page 12 that includes pre-printed text of the written story 22 that carries over from the previous page 16. Leaf 40 is permanently attached to the cover 50 of the book 10 so that the leaf 40 and the pre-printed text of the written story 22 on pages 16 and 18 cannot be removed from the cover 50.

A third leaf 52 may be included in the book 10 and can include a third page 20 that is an illustration page 14. The illustration page 14 may be arranged so that no portion of the pre-printed text of the written story 22 is present on the illustration page 14. The illustration page 14 is provided in order for the child to create his or her own illustration 24 thereon. The illustration 24 is a graphic or picture drawn by the child. In certain exemplary embodiments, the illustration 24 does not contain text written or drawn by the child. The child can create the illustration 24 by way of permanent ink in certain embodiments. The illustration 24 may be created by the use of pens, crayons, or markers. In other embodiments, the child may create an illustration 24 through an erasable instrument such as a pencil or colored pencils so that the entire illustration 24 or portions thereof may be erased. The child can decide an appropriate illustration 24 to create based upon his or her imagination or impression regarding previous comprehension of the written story 22. The child may decide to create an illustration 24 based upon an image thought of by the child upon hearing the written story 22 that relates to the characters or story or to how the story will develop. The child may alternatively decide to create an illustration 24 that is not related to the written story 22.

The third leaf 52 that includes the illustration page 14 may be provided with perforations 34 that allow the third leaf 52, and hence illustration page 14 to be removed from the cover 50 so that they can be in effect removed from the book 10. The perforations 34 are a series of apertures or weakened points in the paper third leaf 52 that allow the portion of the third leaf 52 along the perforations 34 to be easily removed or torn. The child can then place the illustration page 14 with the drawn illustration 24 at a desired location such as on a refrigerator, wall or in a frame. Alternatively, the child may first remove the illustration page 14 by way of the perforations 34 and then subsequently create the illustration 24 on the illustration page 14 while the illustration page 14 is detached from the cover 50. The perforations 34 render the illustration page 14 removably attachable to the cover 50 and hence book 10. Other arrangements of causing the illustration page 14 to be removably attachable to the book 10/cover 50 are also possible. For example, clips or hook and loop type fasteners can be used to allow the illustration page 14 to be attached to the book 10/cover 50 and then be removed from the book 10/cover 50. The mechanism for rendering the illustration page 14 removably attachable may be non-reversible so that once detached, the illustration page 14 cannot be subsequently reattached to the book 10/cover 50. One such example of this is the provision of the perforations 34 onto the third leaf 52 as discussed. In other exemplary embodiments, the illustration page 14 can be reattached to the book 10/cover 50 so that the illustration page 14 can be repeatedly removed and then attached.

Removal and subsequent placement of the illustration page 14 with the drawn illustration 24 at a location remote from the book 10 provides visual stimulation to the child and acts as a reminder of the written story 22 of the book 10. The child may then be encouraged to reread the written story 22 or to reuse the book 10 should other illustration pages 14 still remain therein that do not have illustrations 24 drawn thereon. Further, the written illustration 24 when placed at a different location can serve as a reminder to the guardian of the child of his or her time spent reading with the child.

The page on the back side of the illustration page 14 is shown in FIG. 4 and is a blank fourth page 44. The fourth page 44 may be blank because the other side of the leaf 52 is in fact intended to be drawn on by the child and hence subsequently displayed. However, it is to be understood that the fourth page 44 need not be a blank page in other arrangements of the creative illustration book 10. For example, pre-printed text 48 for instructions regarding the usage of the book 10 may be on the opposite side of the leaf 52 from the illustration 24. Additionally or alternatively, a pre-printed illustration 36 could be located on the fourth page 44 in other arrangements.

The text of the written story 22 from the second page 18 may continue onto the story page 12 located on the leaf 54. Leaf 54 may again be permanently attached to the cover 50 so that it is non-removably attached to the cover 50/book 10. Non-removable attachment of the leaf 54, in addition to others previously described as non-removably attached, may be effected through the use of conventional book binding of the leaf 54 to the cover 50. In effect, the leaf 54, in addition to others described as non-removably attached, are not provided with perforations 34 or other mechanisms that render them removable. The entire text of the written story 22 can be contained on story pages 12 that are permanently attached to the book 10 and thus are not removable. As such, the creative illustration book 10 can have written illustrations 24 by the child removed but may maintain the entire written story 22 within so as to be located in a single location. The written story 22 may then be saved for subsequent rereading in the future as desired.

The illustration page 14 can be arranged in a variety of manners. FIG. 5 shows one exemplary embodiment in which the illustration page 14 is blank. The child may create an illustration 24 at any location on the blank illustration page 14. Although not shown, the leaf having the illustration page 14 can be perforated through the use of perforations 34 as previously discussed to cause the illustration page 14 to be removably attached to the book 10.

FIG. 6 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of the illustration page 14. The illustration page 14 includes a pre-printed illustration 28 that may or may not relate to characters or issues associated with the written story 22. The pre-printed illustration 28 may be located in any portion of the illustration page 14. As shown, the pre-printed illustration 28 is located in a corner of the illustration page 14. In other arrangements, the pre-printed illustration 28 is located in the side, at the top, or at the bottom of the illustration page 14. The pre-printed illustration 28 may be small or large and can be located at any spot on the illustration page 14 in other arrangements. The pre-printed illustration 28 may be suggestive of an illustration 24 that is to be drawn by the child so that the child will have a hint as to what illustration 24 to make. However, the instruction page 42 can state that the child is to draw an illustration 24 of his or her own choosing regardless of the hint provided by the pre-printed illustration 28. The illustration page 14 can also include pre-printed text 26 thereon that relates to either the pre-printed illustration 28 or to the written story 22 or otherwise. A pre-printed boarder 30 can also be included and may extend around an area 32 of the illustration page 14 that is the area designated for the child to draw the illustration 24 thereon. As with other described illustration pages 14, the illustration page 14 in FIG. 6 can be provided with perforations 34 so as to be removably attached to the book 10.

FIG. 7 is an alternative exemplary embodiment of an illustration page 14 in which pre-printed text 26 is not present. However, the illustration page 14 is provided with a pre-printed boarder 30 of stars that create an area 32 into which the child can draw the illustration 24. The pre-printed boarder 30 need not be stars in other arrangements. For example, the pre-printed boarder 30 may be circles, dashes, letters, numbers, animals, half-moons, or apples in accordance with other exemplary embodiments.

Although described herein as having a first page 16, second page 18, third page 20 and fourth page 44, it is to be understood that any number of pages may be present in the book 10 and the aforementioned pages need not be in sequential order with one another. For example, the third page 20 as discussed may appear in the book 10 in sequence before the first or second pages 16 and 18 in certain arrangements. Further, although only a single illustration page 14 is shown in the enclosed figures, it is to be understood that any number of illustration pages 14 may be present in accordance with other exemplary embodiments. For example, from 2-5, from 6-10, or up to 30 illustration pages 14 may be present in accordance with other exemplary embodiments of the creative illustration book 10. Likewise, any number of story pages 12 or instruction pages 42 can be employed. From 2-5, from 6-10, or up to 30 story pages 12 and/or instruction pages 42 can be present in other configurations of the book 10.

The instruction page 42 may inform the user that the book 10 contains one or more illustration pages 14 that are designed for a child to draw an illustration 24 thereon. The instruction page 42 may inform the user that the child should draw the illustration 24 in permanent ink because the illustration page 42 with included illustration 24 will be subsequently removed from the book 10 and displayed or saved. The instruction page 42 can instruct the user to read the text of the written story 22 to the child or have the child himself or herself read the text of the written story 22. Upon encountering an illustration page 14, the pre-printed text 48 of the instruction page 42 may instruct the user to stop reading the written story 22 and draw an illustration 24 onto the encountered illustration page 14. The instruction page 42 can then instruct the user to remove the illustration page 14 from the cover 50 through the tearing of the leaf having the illustration page 42 by way of perforations 34, or other removably attachable mechanism, and subsequent display or storage of the illustration page 14.

The instruction page 42 can inform the user that the child should create an illustration 24 based upon the written story 22, what will happen in the written story 22, or based upon some other item the child is thinking of upon reading through the written story 22. In some embodiments, the instruction page 42 may instruct the user to have the child create an illustration 24 based completely upon what the child is thinking at the time and not based upon the written story 22 or the particular pre-printed illustration 28 on the illustration page 14. The instruction page 42 may inform the user to continue on through the book 10 reading the written story 22 and creating illustrations 24 as encountered until all of the illustration pages 14 have illustrations 24 drawn thereon. The instruction page 42 may also indicate to the user that once all of the illustration pages 14 are removed, the resulting story pages 12 are permanently attached to the cover 50 and thus will remain together in the book 10 so that the entire written story 22 could be reread and so that none of the written story 22 is located on any of the leaves that also contain the illustration pages 14. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the instruction page 42 may instruct the user to create the illustrations 24 but not to remove any of the illustrations 24 from the book 10. In these instances, the illustration page or pages 14 are maintained within the book 10 and are not removed therefrom so that the written story 22 and the created illustrations 24 are kept within the book 10 for later review.

While the present invention has been described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the subject matter encompassed by way of the present invention is not to be limited to those specific embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended for the subject matter of the invention to include all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as can be included within the spirit and scope of the following claims. 

1. A creative illustration book, comprising: a first page that has pre-printed text of a written story, wherein the first page is non-removably attached to a book; a second page that has the pre-printed text of the written story, wherein the second page is non-removably attached to the book; and a third page for use having an illustration drawn thereon by a user of the book, wherein the third page is devoid of any of the pre-printed text of the written story, wherein the third page is removably attached to the book.
 2. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 1, wherein the third page has pre-printed text thereon that is not the pre-printed text of the written story.
 3. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 1, wherein the third page has a pre-printed illustration thereon that relates to the written story.
 4. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 3, wherein the pre-printed illustration on the third page is located in a lower corner of the third page.
 5. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 1, wherein the third page has a pre-printed boarder thereon that completely surrounds an area of the third page designated for having the illustration to be drawn by the user.
 6. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 1, further comprising an illustration drawn by a user in permanent ink located on the third page.
 7. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 1, wherein the third page is perforated so as to cause the third page to be removably attached to the book.
 8. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first page has a pre-printed illustration thereon, and wherein a leaf of the book that has the third page has a fourth page on the reverse of the third page that is blank.
 9. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 1, further comprising an instruction page that has pre-printed text thereon that informs a reader of the purpose and use of the third page.
 10. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 1, wherein the third page is completely blank.
 11. A method of using a creative illustration book, comprising the steps of: providing a book that has a plurality of story pages that each have pre-printed text of a written story thereon, wherein the book has a plurality of illustration pages that do not have the pre-printed text of the written story thereon, wherein the story pages are non-removably attached to the book, and wherein the illustration pages are removably attached to the book; reading at least one of the story pages; drawing an illustration on one of the illustration pages; and removing the illustration page that has the drawing from the book.
 12. The method of using the creative illustration book as set forth in claim 11, wherein the drawing step is performed by a child, and wherein the providing and reading steps are performed by a guardian of the child.
 13. The method of using the creative illustration book as set forth in claim 12, wherein the reading step includes reading all of the story pages, and wherein the drawing step includes drawing illustrations on all of the illustration pages, and wherein the removing step includes removing all of the illustration pages from the book such that the story pages remaining in the book include the entire written story.
 14. A creative illustration book, comprising: a story page that has pre-printed text of a written story; and an illustration page that does not have any of the pre-printed text of the written story, wherein the illustration page is removable from the book such that the entire written story is retained in the book after removal of the illustration page, wherein the illustration page is provided for use in having a user draw an illustration thereon.
 15. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 14, wherein the illustration page has an illustration drawn thereon by a user that is made from permanent ink.
 16. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 14, wherein the story page has a pre-printed illustration thereon.
 17. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 14, further comprising a graphical page that has a pre-printed illustration thereon, wherein the graphical page does not have any of the pre-printed text of the written story thereon, wherein the graphical page is not removable from the book.
 18. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 14, wherein a plurality of the story pages are present, and wherein a plurality of the illustration pages are present, and wherein all of the illustration pages have illustrations drawn thereon by the user and are removed from the book such that none of the pages remaining in the book have illustrations drawn by the user thereon.
 19. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 14, wherein the illustration page has a pre-printed boarder thereon that completely surrounds an area of the illustration page designated for having the illustration to be drawn by the user, and wherein the illustration page has a pre-printed illustration thereon that is located in a corner of the illustration page
 20. The creative illustration book as set forth in claim 14, further comprising an instruction page that has pre-printed text thereon that informs a reader of the purpose and use of the illustration page. 